General   (General discussion, talk about anything.)

I have over two thousand strawberry plants (Well: I did until this morning, when I have given half of them to a neighbour)

In a good year, I could pick four large colanders of fruit every few hours. So, a few years ago, I laid in the kit to make some wine and jam with all this bounty.

It never happened.

Last year: emergency job- had the roofers in. Expected to take a couple of days, but became a couple of weeks, as they were constantly rained off. Consequently either it was raining, or I was busy with the roofers: never got the chance to net the strawberries, so bar a dozen or so, the birds got them all.

This year: Very warm winter, and only about four days since March when it hasn't rained. Ground is far too waterlogged for me to net them, and slugs are out of control.

Score: Birds get around 60% of fruit!
Slugs get about 39.99% of fruit!
I get about 0.01% of fruit!

It is not worth the effort to tend thousands of plants for so little (probably £1 worth at supermarket prices), so decided to grow something else in their place!